The holiday season is creeping up on us and it’s got to that point in the year where the general consensus is that it’s an acceptable time to start feeling festive, but if you’re not quite there yet, give Lucy Rose‘s cover of the classic ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ a listen, it’s got jingly bells in it…
We’re all familiar with the original: the soulful, husky voice of Chris Rea, a moody supporting synthesizer and a crisp blues guitar accompaniment. Released in 1988, the track has withstood the test of time and is now getting covered left, right and centre. Most of these have been utterly unremarkable (I’m looking at you Stacey Solomon), however, amongst the vast graveyard of failed attempts lies the odd diamond in the rough, or snowflake in the slush if you want to get all festive about things; here we see it in the form of Lucy Rose.
It’s fair to say Lucy Rose is no Mariah Carey; she’s not going to knock your socks off with a power ballad any time soon. Rose, however, shows her strength through her gentle voice and melancholy guitar accompaniments so festive you wouldn’t be surprised to spot Santa somewhere in the background donning a Stratocaster. This soothing voice certainly does not give you the image of Lucy hauling ass for the horizon in order to get home in time for Christmas, rather the opposite in fact. Rose creates a warm atmosphere that’s ever so vacant on the majority of the classic Christmas albums floating around today. Just like The Weepies did with ‘All That I Want’, Lucy Rose’s cover timidly nudges you towards that festive feeling rather than forcibly shoving all things Christmas in your face. It is that sheepish characteristic that gives it the edge over the original, in my opinion. Recorded for Lauren Laverne on 6 Music, you can listen to the track below (alongside Chris Rea’s original version); it’s sure get you modern-day Scrooges feeling the festive spirit in no time.
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By Joe Doherty
Dance Yrself Clean
